seikyo yoroku 2

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Yamaga Sok6 s Seiky( y( roku:An English Translation and Analysis (Part Two)

John Allen TuckerUniversity of North Florida

A. IntroductionThis essay traces the bakumatsu-Meiji revival of Yamaga Sok6's LLI , -(1627-85) shid6 z[z_, or samurai philosophy, first as promoted by Yoshida Sh6in : (1830-59) during the early bakumatsu period (1853-67), and then as continued by

various political, military, and ideological leaders of Meiji Japan who were influenced bySh6in's teachings. The paper initially highlights the metamorphosis in critical value, fromnegative to positive, in allegations linking Sok6's shid6 with the Ak6 r6nin , , )kvendetta of 1703. t suggests that the s me spurious charges which had damned Sok6'sphilosophy in the intellectual world of mid-eighteenth-century Edo, were largely respon-sible for the widespread support that it gained during the Meiji period (1868-1912). Thepaper then distinguishes two phases in the Sok6 revival. The first featured an unprece-dented expression of imperial praise for the self-sacrificing loyalty that the Ak6 rOnin haddemonstrated for their daimy6, or samurai lord, in carrying out their vendetta. During thesecond phase, occurring in the late-Meiji period, Sok6 w s posthumously honored withimperial rank and his shid6 exalted for its proimperial focus. The implicit message of thisrevival w s that Meiji Japan possessed a valuable ideological asset in Sok6's shid6 sincethe latter could presumably inculcate in Japanese the kind of imperial loyalty that the rOninhad displayed for their daimy6. Because of its special ideological potency, Sokb's shid6w s acclaimed in late-Meiji times as a key ingredient in a nascent civil religion, ''1 onecombining imperialist, ultranationalist, and militarist themes.

The term civil religion is borrowed, with significant adaptation, from Peter Duus and IrwinScheiner, Socialism, Liberalism, and Marxism, 1901-1931, The Cambridge History of Japan,Volume 6 The Twentieth Century, ed. Peter Duus (New York: Cambridge University Press,1988), p. 655. While Duus and Scheiner refer to civil religion in relation to Inoue Tetsujir6's(1856-1944) thought, this paper does so in relation to Sok6's thought, as championed by Inoue, aswell.

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B. The Late-Tokugawa Metamorphosis of the Sok6-Ak6 R6nin LinkAs w s explained in the introductory essay to part one of this translation of Sok6 sSeik),6 y6rokzt, 2 opponents of Sok6 s teachings such as Sat6 Naokata /5 I ft. JT (1650-1719), a disciple of Yamazaki Ansai s 12.1 I [ (1618-1682) purist Neo-Confucianphilosophy, and Dazai Shundai 77 - (1680-1747), an advocate of Ogyfi Sorai s

11 (1666-1728) ancient learning, first blamed Sok6 s shid6 for the Ak6 vendetta.Their accusations sought to discredit Sok6 s philosophy in the eyes of the Tokugawabaktt. They were deemed credible because of incriminating but ultimately circumstantiallinks between Sok6 and the r6nm. For example, between 1652 and 1660, Sok6 hadserved Asano Naganao jj;: (1610-1692), the toz m , daimy6 of Ak6 domain,as an instructor in martial philosophy. Tozama daimy6 were major samurai lords who hadnot been vassals of the Tokugawa family before the battle of Sekigahara 9- ,, (1600)which secured Tokugawa hegemony over Japan. Not all toz m fought against the Toku-gawa, but those who did were generally viewed as the least loyal daimy6 in the new politi-cal order. Asano Nagamasa : i (1544-1611), the head of the main line of theAsano family, w s one of the relatively few toz m daimy6 who had supported the Toku-gawa at Sekigahara. As a result he w s well rewarded after the Tokugawa victory, receiv-ing a much enlarged domain including the relatively new Hiroshima castle.The branch of the Asano family which Sok6 later served, led by Asano Naganao,w s treated more ambiguously. While initially entrusted with Kasama , domain inmodern Ibaraki 7- prefecture), with an assessment of 30,000 koku, they were trans-ferred, in 1644, to Ak6, a domain with a larger rice yield, 53,000 kokn, but a castle in abad state of disrepair. The Tokugawa eventually allowed the Asano daimy6 to build anew castle in Ak6, but did so only in 1653, 3 and then unenthusiastically. However in1701, Naganao s grandson, Naganori : d. 1701), criminally violated Tokugawa lawby drawing his sword on a high ranking master of court ceremonies, Kira oshinaka d. 1703), within the inner confines of the shogun s castle. Exacerbating the serious-ness of Naganori s offense w s the fact that t had been committed during preparations foran annual New Year s ritual welcoming representatives of the imperial court to theshogun s castle.The Tokugawa wasted no time in revealing that Naganori s branch of the Asanofamily merited little special treatmenti in less than 24 hours the bakttfu ordered Naganorito commit suicide. Tragically for Sok6 s shid6, his earlier service to Naganao as aninstructor of samurai philosophy linked him, albeit decades before Naganori s 1701 attack,with the daimy6 family that later capitally violated baktt law. Sok6 s service to Naganaoalso linked him with Ak6, the domain that later carried out the 1703 vendetta against KiraYoshinaka as revenge for Naganori s death. Because the bakufu also judged the vendettato be a criminal act, Sok6 s earlier links to the Asano family and the Ak6 samurai seemedSee Sino-Japanese Studies (6.1): 22-39.Hori Isao :2, Yamaga Sok6 i, Jinbutsu s6sho J )- series, vol. 33 (Tokyo:Yoshikava k6bunkan, 1959), p. 126

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especially incriminating since their misdeeds seemed to have had only one philosophicalenominator: his shid6.Making Sok6 seem all the more culpable was the fact that the bakt had onceexiled him to Ak6, between 1666 and 1675, as punishment for publication of his sup-osedly inflammatory treatise, the Seiky6 y6roku , (Essential Meanings of theSagely Confucian Teachings). Because the baktt had already cast Sok6 as an ideologicalffender, the allegations of Naokata and Shundai seemed to corroborate its earlier verdict.Thus, Sok6's shid6 was easily and convincingly assigned philosophical responsibility forthe Ak6 vendetta. Though the allegations were tantamount to slander, being based onevidence that was at best circumstantial, many Edo samurai found them to be sufficientlyredible. What remained of Sok6's school of samurai philosophy was soon shunned by allbut its most dedicated followers. Following decades of continuing atrophy, Sok6's shiddcompletely disappeared from Edo in 1744. 4 That fate seems most ironic when one recallsthat Sok6, a resident of Edo since early childhood, had dreamed throughout his adult lifeof serving the bakt as an instructor of samurai philosophy. 5By Yoshida Sh6in's day, however, the Ak6 r6nm were increasingly being viewedas chivalrous samurai who had broken bakufu law, but only so that they could fulfill amore praiseworthy ideal, that of self-sacrificing loyalty to their lord. Of course, the evergrowing popularity of productions of Kanadehon chshmgura 7 ,, l Treasures of Loyalty and Fidelity) in puppet and kabuki theatres facilitated these morepositive appraisals of the rOtlm. 6 More significantly, the increasing ineffectiveness of thebakufu as a ruling force further contributed to the popular idolization of the rOnin asvalorous men of action. The allegations that had vilified Sok6's shid6 when Tokugawauthority was strong thus underwent a metamorphosis parallelling the transformation ofthe Ak6 rOnm from official criminals to popular heroes. Instead of implying that Sok6'sshid6 had incited Ak6 samurai to engage in violent and illegal behavior, those allegationscame to suggest, with praise, that Sok6's learning could instill in samurai an exceptionaleadiness to sacrifice themselves courageously for the sake of loyalty and fidelity.he Sentetsu s6dan gohen fz ' t , (Biographies of Confucian Scholars, PartTwo, 1829), thus claimed, quite admiringly, that Sok6 had decisively transformed Ak6 samuraibetween the years 1652 and 1660, i.e., the period when Asano Naganao had first retained Sok6as a shid6 instructor. Almost fifty years later after the bakufu ordered Naganori to commitseppuku and confiscated the family's domain, forty-seven ex-retainers of the Asano family41bid., p. 319.Ibid., pp. 304-315.6 For a discussion of the popularity of Kanadehon Chshingura as a literary model in Tokugawaapan see Suwa Haruo - t , Kanadehon Chshingura to kindai k6ki sh6setsu [ -1 I_ I j - g J ix (ChtTshingura and Early Modern Novels), in Ak6 jiken m kansuruungei to shis6 : 7_ I 4V - ,, (Literature and Thought Related to the Ak6R6nin Incident) (Tokyo: Gakushfiin daigaku T6y6 bunka kenkyfijo, 1984), pp. 1-18. Also, DonaldKeene, Variations on a Theme: ChTshingura, Chshingura: Studies in Kabula and Puppetheatre, ed. James R. Brandon (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1982), pp. 1-57.

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made evident what they had learned from SokO, successfully taking revenge on their deceasedmaster's enemy by brutally assassinating him. 7 Of course the Sentetsw sodom gohen did notmention that Sok6 spent only seven months in Ak6 during his entire eight-year tenure inservice to Naganao. 8 Most of the time Sok6 had remained in Edo. Nor did it address the factthat even the eldest of the forty-seven Ak6 rdnin w s a mere child when Sok6 w s exiledthere. 9 Those problems notwithstanding, ShOin, like many samurai of his day, apparentlyaccepted, as pure and simple fact, the popular myth that SokO s shid6 had been the keyphilosophical force behind the rdnin vendetta.C. Yoshida Sh6in s Idolization of Sok6 and the Ak6 Rnin

From early childhood, Yoshida Sh6in's life w s dominated by Sok6's philosophy. Ashereditary instructors of SokO's shid6 for the daimy6 of ChOshfi : , ,[,[ domain, the Yoshidafamily had first gained certification in those teachings in 1714, just a decade after the theninfamous Ak6 rOnin incident. Close vassals of the Tokugawa had rallied behind the balmfuand its denunciation of the vendetta, and, by implication, SokO s teachings. That w s not theperspective, however, of the ChOshfi daimyO, the MOri IJ family. As toz m lords, theMOri were not at all comfortable with Tokugawa rule. Prior to their defeat at Sekigahara theMOri had ruled the second wealthiest domain in Japan, their holdings totalling 1,205,000 koku.But after 1600, following the Tokugawa decision to quarter their holdings, the MOri domainw s assessed at a mere 298,480 koku, and the territory that they ruled w s reduced to two pro-vinces, Nagato iN: [ and Silo P [I- 5, less than a fourth of their previous domains. ''l In latergenerations, the animosities engendered by this reduction facilitated a fascination for, and thendedication to, SokO's teachings partly because they were linked to defiance of Tokugawa laws.In 1835, ShOin, then only six years old, became the official instructor of SokO's philo-sophy in ChOshfi. In 1840, at eleven, he began lecturing his daimy6 MOri Takachikac;lJ jj(1819-71) on SokO' s Bu19,6 zensho [ J (Complete Works [of Yamaga SokO] on Mar-tial Philosophy), a compilation that ShOin studied and taught for the rest of his life. WithTakachika's support, ShOin travelled, in 1850, to Hirado _z ), a hallowed center of SokO's7 Quoted from lnoue TetsujirO, Nihon kogalaha no tetsugalat 7:-'k:,CO:i(The Philosophy ofthe Japanese School of Ancient Learning) (Tokyo: FuzanbO, 1921 revised edition of the 1902 ed. , pp.25-26.Hori, Yamaga SokO, p. 127.9 David Earl's Emperor and Nanon in Japan admits that Oishi Kuranosuke, leader of the Ak6rOnin, w s only a boy when Sok6 w s exiled to AkO, but insists that Kuranosuke w s amongSokO s pupils, and declares that there is no doubt that the action taken by the men of AkO...wasinspired by SokO's personal teaching of bushidO. Earl, Emperor and Nation in Japan: Pol#icalThinkers of the Tolagawa Period (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1964), p. 39. How-ever, it offers no evidence proving that Sok6 inspired the rOnin. Nor does Emperor and Natonmention Hori's argument that Sok6 exerted no direct impact on the Ak6 rOnin. Many other equallyreputable Western studies of Tokugawa Japan repeat the s me line without critical analysis.0 Albert Craig, ChOsh and the Meifi Restoration (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1961),pp. 21, 11-25.

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shid6 since its institutional demise in Edo in 1744. In Hirado, Sh6in studied under YamagaBansuke I-[-I ) d. 1856), a distant relative of Sok6.1 But Sh6in's time there must havebeen frustrating because Bansuke, apparently rather ill cancelled his lectures repeatedly. Sh6inthus returned to Ch6shfi, hoping for another opportunity to gain advanced instruction inSok6's samurai philosophy. The next year, 1851, Sh6in received that chance, accompanyinghis daimy6 to Edo and enrolling in Yamaga Sosui's I_1_1 7J newly opened academy, thefirst Yamaga school in the shogun's capital in over a century. While studying under him, Sh6inw s asked to edit Sosui's Renpei setsuryaku , - N} (Summary of Yamaga Military Strate-gies), a2 Sh6in also studied with the Neo Confucian scholar, Asaka Gonsai ) (1791-1860), of the Sh6heik6 qz , and Sakuma Sh6zan t' [ : 1_1_1 1811-64), an admirer andadvocate of Westem military techniques. Though impressed by Sh6zan's views about thepractical need for Westem learning, Sh6in remained a proponent of Sok6's shid6, instructinghis daimy6 twice monthly at the M6ri residence in Edo. 13Sh6in revealed how strongly the exploits of the Ak6 r6nm loomed in his mind when,without receipt of written permission from his daimy6, he and two other students of Sok6'sphilosophy left on a journey to northern Honshfi on 12/14 of 1852. Sh6in recorded in hisT6hoku y nikki y]g _ Diary of My Travels North) how the three had pledged toleave Edo on the s me date that the r6nm had executed their vendetta against Kira Yoshi-naka. 14 The destination of Sh6in and his comrades w s Tsugaru domain, the strongholdof Sok6's teachings in northeastem Honshfi. Not surprisingly, during their pilgrimage the threeshid6 students often discussed Chtshingura.

On returning to Edo in the spring of 1853, Sh6in turned himself in to his daimy6. Likethe Ak6 r6nin, who reported their vendetta to the Tokugawa authorities in Edo as soon as theyhad successfully completed it Sh6in had no intention of evading responsibility for his deeds,despite the fact that he had offended his daimy6. In departing without official written permis-sion Sh6in had violated an important aspect of lord-vassal protocol. As punishment, Sh6in'sdaimy6 Takachika ordered him back to Ch6shfi and there reduced him to r6nm status.Although a serious demotion, that punishment possibly gave Sh6in what he wanted since itprovided him with a social status identical to that of his apparent heroes, the Ak6 r6nin.

l Yoshida Sh6in, Saiyg nikla ]g i Diary of Travels in Westem Japan), in Yoshida Sh6in, Nihonshis6 taikei , (Grand Anthology of Japanese Thought; hereaRer, NST), vol. 54, eds.Yoshida Tsunekichi = /t =, Fujita Sh6z6 [] el -_._ and Nishida Taichir6 ]g [] 1 Tokyo:Iwanami shoten, 1978), pp. 403-06, 413-18, 423,425-26, 430-33, 438. 441. Sh6in, Shokan -(Correspondence), in Yoshida Shdin, NST, vol. 54, p. 56.3 Sh6in's lifelong bond with the Yamaga school is often omitted by even respected studies. Forexample George M. Wilson's interpretive study of the Meiji Restoration, Patriots and Redeemersin Japan: Motives in the Meiji Restoration Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992) does notmention Sh6in's affiliation with the Sok6's teachings.4 Sh6in, Tdhokuyg nikki .(Diary of Travels to Northeastern Japan), in Yoshida Sh6in,NST, vol. 54, p. 447.1. Cf., Sh6in, Ibid., NST, pp. 505,507, 522.

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Takachika also revealed his sympathy for Sh6in by permitting him to travel outside of thedomain for ten years. Sh6in promptly returned to Edo to resume study under Sosui.Throughout the 1850's Sh6in regularly alluded to Sok6's writings. For example,Sh6in opened his T6hoku yt nikki by speaking of Mshi no shi Y 7) ?12, or samurai withresolve, referring to impassioned activists who were ready to sacrifice themselves for somecause, much as the Ak6 r6nm had for their lord. Sh6in discussed the s me figures elsewherecalling them shishi ,t,215. In doing so he made multiple allusions. One w s to Ltmyu 4/9(Analects), where Confucius spoke ofshi z:[2 or knights, whose shi ,,, or intentions, werecentered on the moral Way. Another w s to Sok6's military writings, especially his worksentitled Shid6 zt2 __ (Samurai Philosophy) and the Buky6 shOgalat /J (The ElementaryLearning for Samurai), where Sok6 described shishi as ideal Confucian samurai. But often itappears that when Sh6in spoke ofshishi he had in mind the heroic, loyalist activism of the Ak6rOnm. The latter kind of allusion, along with expressions of intense concern for the welfare ofimperial Japan, the new focus of his loyalty, pervaded Sh6in's final years.For example, in 1854, after violating the official Tokugawa foreign policy ofsakoku ,1, or national seclusion, by trying to stowaway on one of Commodore Matthew Perry's flag-ships, the USS Powhatan, Sh6in explained that he s w his violation of baku.fit law as continu-ing a paradigm that the Ak6 r6nin had exemplified earlier, one calling for principled disobedi-ence when the demands of righteous action conflicted with those of the law. Writing fromDenma-ch6 -g Itt-J prison, Sh6in reasoned: When Ak6 w s offended, the 47 righteoussamurai sacrificed themselves to take revenge on their lord's enemy... The Ak6 samurai, inserving their lord, defied the law. For the sake of my country, I too had to defy the law.16Sh6in's Kaikoroku [] , ([Prison] Memoirs), finished during his confinement in Ch6shfi,further reveals that he modelled his life in prison after the example of the Ak6 r6nm. Regard-ing Sh6in's austere, self-imposed diet, the Kaikoroku recalls, with admiration, how the Ak6gishi den , f12 (Accounts of the Ak6 Samurai) related that the rdnin, though detainedin groups isolated from one another, consistently declined the succulent dishes offered tothem. 17 Later in the Kaikorolat Sh6in argued that his ow suffering for a righteous c usewould benefit the nation just as the righteous samurai of Ak6 had benefitted Japan, and just asthe righteous martyrdoms ofBo Yi {fl N and Shu Qi J (12th cent. B.CE.) had benefittedChina. Sh6in then suggested that the Ak6 samurai, Bo Yi, and Shu Qi were all seijin _ Jk, orConfucian sages, who deserved respect as the teachers of hundreds of generations. '' Thusdid Sh6in reveal that he modelled his martyr's course after that of the Ak6 r6nin, whom heconsidered to be Japanese exemplars of a sagely way which w s tracable even to ancient China.In 1856, after being released from Noyama j k[l prison, Sh6in w s allowed to lectureon his samurai philosophy at the Sh6ka sonjuku -- ,j , an academy founded in Ch6shfiby his uncle Kubo Seitar6 . 7 1[. Sh6in's pupils included It6 Hirobumi ' j[ (1841-1909), Yamagata Aritomo [J_l , ] (1838-1922), and other Ch6shfi samurai wholater became leaders in the Meiji imperial regime. At the Sh6ka sonjuku one of Sh6in's key16 QHotod from Earl, Emperor and Naton, pp. 125-26.7 Sh6in, Kaik6roku (Prison Memoirs), NST, vol. 54, p. 549. Sh6in, Ibid., p. 562.

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texts was Sokr's Bul9,6 zensho. In his lectures, Shrin lauded Sokr's impact on the rrnmwhile simultaneously linking it to imperial loyalismWe samurai...must strive to repay the grace and boun provided for us through this imperialland by striving always to fulfill the way of the samurai... If samurai wish to comprehendeir way they must accept the precepts of our s an urai teacher, Yamaga Sokr. Throughouthistory msafiad books have been a-itten, so wh 3 are Master Sokr's so worthy of belief?When you have studied what Master Sok6 recorded in the Bu,6 zensho, you 11 fathom thiscompletely. But allow me to explain just one point... When one thoroughly exarnines the Ak6vendetta, one realizes what )ishi Kuranosuke J ; pkj j Jj (1659-1703), the leader of theAk6 samurai, learned from Master Sokr. 9

According to Shrin, the heroics of the rrnin exemplified how Sokr's shid6 could inculcate insamurai an admirable willingness to i-espond to duties, including those to the imperial nation,which possibly transcended mere baktt decrees.Shrin also expanded themes that were only marginally present in Sokr's writings. Forexample, he claimed that the essence of Sokr's Buky6 shOgalat consisted in its account ofshid6 and kokutai [] , or the distinctive national essence of Japan. The latter Shrin explained as the national essence of Japan as a shinsht ( 1 1 or divine land. He claimed thatSok6 wrote the Buky6 shrgalat to keep Japan from losing its divine kolattai. In formulatingthis interpretation Shrin was combining ideas from Sokr's years in exile, when Sok6 had expounded a nationalistic and pro-imperial line of thought in his ChtchOjijitsu d? . z:q_fi ] (TheTrue Reality of the Central Kingdom), with Sokr's earlier works which were more concerned with the basics of samurai behavior than theories about the national polity. Neverthe-less, Shrin's reinterpretation of Sok6 reveals that Shrin's extreme pro-imperial line, ottenindicated by the phrase sonn6 q:, or rever the emperor, had clear and distinct roots inSokr's thought. 2Shrin's study of Sokr's philosophy was the strongest, most resilient thread binding hisintellectual development. In a letter to his uncle, dated 1858, Shrin related: Having studiedthe Buky6 nsho for decades, I m beginning to grasp some of its meaning. Evidently,however, Shrin was most inspired by shid6 teachings which could be related to or explained interms of the bravery of the Ak6 rrnm. Not surprisingly, Sokr's final years seem to have been

an attempt at matching the loyalist martyrdom of the rOnm, though with the imperial throneserving as the focus of his efforts. After hearing that Ii Naosuke 3lzl:/f--Jj (1815-60), then theguiding force within the balat, planned to conclude treaties with several Western nationsdespite imperial opposition to them, Shrin decided that the bakt had to be stopped. After allit had become, in his eyes, the enemy of the emperor and the imperial nation. In late 1858, he19 Quoted from Tawara Tsuguo i=J l Yamaga Sok6 to bushid6 L[i Jgg :: j(Yamaga Sok6 and Bushidr), Yamaga Sok6 1_1_1 ,E , , Nihon no meicho It : 6 r) : series(Japanese Classics), vol. 12, (Tokyo: Chfi6 krron sha, 1971), p. 16.20 Hori, Yamaga Sokr, pp. 143-144. Also see, Tawara, Yamaga Sok6 to bushidr, Yamagaokr, pp. 13-18.

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and seventeen Ch6shfi samurai thus made a blood pledge to assassinate Manabe Akikatsu [[- s 1804-84), a ro. j? :7 , or Senior Councillor, whom the bakt was sending to quashanti-Tokugawa sentiment in Kyoto. Again Sh6in and his co-conspirators mimicked the Ak6rdnin. Sh6in and his comrades, however, meant to avenge imperial honor, not that of adaimy6. In their conspiracy, the Ch6shfi samurai were not alone: a band ofMito 7_ samuraialso plotted to assassinate Ii Naosuke. 21 In 1859, the bakufu uncovered the conspiracy led bySh6in, and promptly executed him at Denma-ch6 prison on 10/27. In his last testament,Rytkon roku , (My Spiritual Pilgramage), Sh6in declared: Even if I return seven timesfrom the dead, I shall never forget to drive away the foreigner. ''22 In his final hours Sh6in thusdreamed of compounding himself into a one man battalion, ready to sacrifice every self hisimagination could muster to more fully approximate the daring heroics for which the rc)ninwere famous.D. Sok6 and the Ak6 ROnin in Meiji Culture

1 Legitimization of the RdninSh6in was buried by his ex-pupils, including It6 Hirobumi and Kido K6in 7: ffi 3 (1833-77). Another of his former students, Yamagata Aritomo, remarked thatSh6in's death was an ineradicable tragedy, causing great sadness to all [imperial] loyal-ists and ineffable sorrow to me. '':3 Sh6in's disciples soon made sure, however, that hisinterpretations of Sok6's philosophy gained a kind of legitimization via imperial decree.By Tokugawa legal standards the Ak6 r6nin remained outlaws, despite the widespreadpublic following that they enjoyed, theatrically and otherwise. Sh6in had glorified therdnin because he, too, was an outlaw of sorts, one intent on challenging if not overthrowing the baktt. Much the same could be said of Sh6in's ex-disciples including It6Hirobumi, Yamagata Aritomo, and Kido K6in. Yet once the bakufu had been destroyedand those surviving Ch6shfi revolutionaries had become Meiji statesmen, they sought torehabilitate their late-teacher and themselves) by having his idols, the Ak6 rdnin, imper-ially designated as exemplars of samurai loyalty. In the process they were also inadver-tently legitimizing Sok6's philosophy since it was widely believed that Sok6's shid6 hadinspired the rdnin vendetta.

In early-Meiji Japan Sh6in's earlier glorification of the r6nin as paragons ofSok6's shid6 was therefore brought to an ultimate state of completion. In the eleventhlunar month of 1868, the Meiji emperor, having moved to Tokyo from Kyoto, dispatched anenvoy to the Sengaku 7 temple to deliver an imperial declaration before the gravestonesf0ishi Kuranosuke and the other rdnin buried there. The decree read:

z Earl, Emperor and Nation, p. 134.: Quoted from H. Van Straelen, Yoshida ShOin: Forerunner of the Meifi Restoration Leiden: E. JBrill, 1952), p. 130.23 Quoted from Roger F. Hackett, Yamagata Artomo in the Rise of Modern Japan, 1838-1922Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1971), p. 17.

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Kuranosuke and the rest of you resoluteb' grasped the duty that samurai have to their lord.You met death serving the rule that samurai should take revenge against their lord's enemies.You inspired the sentiments of one hundred generations. We convev our profoundapprobation. 24This statement was most surely engineered by representatives of the Ch6shfi clique in the newimperial government, many of whom had once studied under Sh6in. More than any of Sh6in'sother ex-students, Kid6 played a crucial role in moving the imperial capital to Edo, and inworking with the Meiji emperor to consolidate his power there during the first year of therestoration. Kid6 was therefore possibly the Ch6shfi representative who encouraged the Meijiemperor, upon arrival in Tokyo, to honor Kuranosuke. 25 The imperial declaration was certain-ly most meaningful to those Ch6shfi samurai who had studied under Sh6in, taken part in theanti-bakufit and pro-imperial struggles, and then risen to positions of high authority in the Meijiregime.

Because the Meiji period was an age ofmodemization and Westernization in Japan, theMeiji emperor's communique to Kuranosuke might seem more like a throwback to the feudalpast than a harbinger of significant future trends. Proof that the imperial decree echoed, andperhaps had excited, widespread public sympathy for the rrnm appeared in a press controversyfollowing the publication of Fukuzawa Yukichi' s } b- (183 7-1901) Gakumon no susume I= a) 3 V') (An Encouragement of Learning). Among other things, Gaktmon sharplycriticized vigilantes who took the law into their own hands executing those whom they haddeemed to be criminals. One of the most egregious examples of this, Fukuzawa noted, oc-curred when vigilantes assassinated government officials just as the Ak6 rrnin had done.Though Fukuzawa recognized that the Japanese public admired the rrnin, he declared that theyhad died a meaningless death, literally that they had died like short-tempered dogs (kenkai noinujini - ) in sacrificing themsdves for the sake of their master. 26 In making thispoint Gakmon equated the rrnin with a pathetic samurai named Gonsuke / whom Fuku-zawa fabricated for the sake of illustrating his point. Gonsuke hanged himself with his loinclothafter losing a coin that his master had given him. The suicides of the Ak6 rrnm were no moremeaningful, Fukuzawa boldly declared, than that of Gonsuke. 2724 Meiji term6 k tJ : g. , (Annals of the Meiji Emperor) (Tokyo: Yoshikawa krbunkan,1968), vol. 1, p. 888. Cf., Tawara, Yamaga Sok6 to bushidr, Yamaga Sokr, pp. 10-11.5 Cf., Melji term6 la', vol. 1, pp. 851-911. As the Meiji term6 la reveals, Asano Nagakoto J,(1842-1937), daimy6 of Hiroshima domain, was also close to the Meiji emperor during the sametime. Perhaps he wanted the rrnin, who had been loyal to his distant relative, exhonorated. Kid6and other Chrshfi samurai allied with the Meiji emperor had reason to see Nagakoto as a one oftheir own Nagakoto had earlier refused a balafu request that he mobilize troops for an expeditionagainst Chrshfi.26 Fukuzawa Yukichi, Gakumon no susume no hy6 g I ] 6 r) 47 ) 6 r) zi (A Defense of AnEncouragement of Learning), in Galamon no susurne 6 r) 47 47 g-) (An Encouragement ofLearning), ed. Koizumi Shinz6 zJx ] __(Tokyo: Iwanami shoten, 1986), p. 166.27 Fukuzawa, Kokuh6 no t6toki o ronzu [ 6 r) - } (On Respecting the Laws of theState, ch. 6) and Kokumin no shokubun o ronzu [ 69 3--) (On the Duties of Citi-

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Due to his criticisms of the rrnm Fukuzawa was repeatedly lambasted in the press.Threats were even made on his life. These finally prompted him to write a defense ofGalalmon in which he admitted that the ideas which he advanced had come from an ethics textby an American philosopher, Francis Wayland. By shifting the blame to Wayland, Fukuzawapartly relieved himself of responsibility for his shocking assessment of the rrnin. Though henever apologized, Fukuzawa's criticisms of the rrnin, and the concomitant threats againstFukuzawa, diminished shortly after his defense of Galatmon appeared. Albert Craig's study ofFukuzawa sees 1875, the year in which this controversy was largely played out, as a tran-sitional point in Fukuzawa's thought, it being the year that Fukuzawa became uncertain andmore and more disillusioned. Craig explains that as of 1875, Fukuzawa had lost faith in autopia ruled by natural laws, and was tending towards a moderate relativism ; the latter per-spective supposedly reflecting his doubts about the prospects for real progress in Meiji Japan. 28Kada TetsujijJI] [] N has similarly suggested that Fukuzawa's backsliding in the wake ofthe media imbroglio reflected the practical need for him to be less headstrong in expressingideas, like his criticisms of the rrnin, that could provoke hostile reactions rather thanenlightenment. 29

Vis-/-vis Shrin's thought, Fukuzawa's retreat from an outspoken liberalism is quitesignificant. In exonerating the Ak6 rdnin, the Meiji emperor decisively reversed the Tokugawaverdict that they were criminals. The emperor even praised the rrnin, much as Shrin had, asteachers who had instructed hundreds of generations. Thereafter the Ak6 rrnm were not justpopular folk heroes of kabuki theatre; they were imperially sanctioned cultural models as well.Even eminent thinkers like Fukuzawa felt obliged to accomodate, via prudent silence, the Ak6rrnin. To criticize them further, Fukuzawa apparently concluded, was unwise and counterpro-ductive; moreover such criticism could be construed as an insult directed at the Meiji emperor.After the rrnin were vindicated from on high, perhaps it was simply a matter of time beforetheir supposed teacher, Yamaga Sokr, was granted similar legitimacy.zens, ch. 7), in Gakumon no susume, ed. Koizumi, pp. 54-72. For an English translation, seeDavid Dilworth and Umeyo Hirano, Fukuzawa Yukichi s An Encouragement of Learning (Tokyo:Sophia University, 1969), pp. 35-47. Discussions of the Nankr-Gonsuke ron are found in NagaoMasanori :,I JE , Fukuzawa YukWhi no kenky f I J =e Or) ff (Studies of FukuzawaYukichi) (Tokyo: Shibunkaku shuppan, 1988), pp. 253, 360. Kada Tetsuji Jl [] :--, Ak6 gishihyrron ?3 / -J2 (Critical Discussion of the Righteous Samurai of Akr) and Nankr-Gonsuke ron , l. (The Nankr-Gonsuke Controversy), in Shisrka to shite no FukuzawaYukichi , (S 6 r) ( f (Fukuzawa Yukichi Viewed as a Intellectual) (Tokyo: Kei6tsfishin, 1958), pp. 121-35. Aida Kurakichi [] 1 =, Fukuzawa Yulachi ( NiJ = (Tokyo:Yoshikawa krbunkan, 1974), pp. 181-83. Ishikawa Kanmei n--] i 1], Iwayuru Nankr-Gonsuke ron 1 b 1 7 1 , ]gj (The So-called Nankr-Gonsuke Controversy), FukuzawaYukichi den = (Biography of Fukuzawa Yukichi), vol. 2 (Tokyo: Iwanami shoten,1932), pp. 327-42._8 Albert M. Craig, Fukuzawa Yukichi: The Philosophical Foundations of Meiji Nationalism, inPolitical Development in Modern Japan, ed. Robert E. Ward (Princeton: Princeton UniversityPress, 1968), pp. 124, 127.29 Kada, Shisdka to shite no Futzawa Yukichi, p. 135.

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2. Legitimization of Sok6 in Late-Meiji JapanDue .to Sh6in's impact on many of the key leaders of the Meiji leadership, ties betweenSok6 and the Ak6 r6nm were glorified, celebrated, and then sanctified in Meiji Japan. OneMeiji newspaper, for example, ran a serial account of the Ak6 rdnm incident, providingetails of the vendetta along with biographies of the rdnm. The latter, written by thejournalist Fukumoto Nichinan :NT. [] pJ(1857-1921), w s so well received that the s mematerial w s later published as a monograph, Akd kaikyo roku gg, ,[ , (Record ofthe Ak6 Incident), and went through many late-Meiji editions. 3 At theatres in Tokyo,saka, and Kyoto, sell-out crowds attended Chtshingtra so regularly that it became ametaphor for things immensely popular. 31 A quasi-religious sect devoted to remembranceof Sok6 also emerged, sponsoring ritual ceremonies commemorating Sok6's life and pub-lishing literature by or about him. On September 26, 1885, a decade before the Sino-Japanese War, the S6sanji temple in modern Shinjuku), where Sok6 w s buried,commemorated the 200th anniversary of his demise. Twenty years later, on June 6, 1906,following the Russo-Japanese war, it held another memorial service for him. Threemonths later there w s yet another. Thereafter these rites became annual events, adding areligious layer to the Sok6 revival. On April 20, 1907, the S6sanji continued its apotheo-is of Sok6 by sponsoring an exhibit of his Buky6 zensho, Nenpu J- (Chronologicaliography), and Kafu , (Family Genealogy). Tokyo University Professor of Philosophy Inoue Tetsujir6 [: A2 at fl[ (1856-1944)ook the lead in academia in identifying Sok6's thought as a key ingredient in Japan's kolasui[] ,g,, i.e., national essence, and its kokutai, or national substance. Inoue's Nihon kogaku notetsugaku [] 7 -- ) (The Philosophy of the Japanese School of Ancient Learning),ublished in 1902, advanced the revival by crediting Sok6's teachings with having decisivelynfluenced )ishi Kuranosuke and the Ak6 r6nm. In doing so Inoue annointed myths linkingSok6 to the Ak6 r6nm with the kind academic respectability that only a professor at Japan'sremier imperial university could have given them. Inoue's socio-political thought, recentlyubbed neotraditionalism, typically blended elements of Confucian morality with nativistmyth. 33 Also, Inoue often deployed Sok6's ideas about Japan's kolattai to fashion an unofficial

30 Quoted in Tawara, Yamaga Sok6 to shid6, Yamaga Sok6, p. 11.3 James L. Huffinan, Politics of the Meifi Press: The Lfe of Fukuchi Gen ichOr6 (Honolulu: Universityf Hawaii Press, 1980), p. 96.3 Yamaga 5bk6 al nenpu II , i'- (Abbreviated Chronological Biography of Yamagaok6), in Yamaga Sok6 zensht7 gg , .; . ] (Complete Works of Yamaga Sok6; hereafter,SZ), ed. Hirose Yutaka/- [ (Tokyo: Iwanami shoten, 1942), vol. 1, pp. 70-71.Duus and Scheiner, Socialism, Liberalism, and Marxism, 1901-1931, pp. 654-55. Also seeIrokawa Daikichi, The Culture qfthe Meiji Period (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1985),pp. 280, 288, 291. Irokawa characterizes Inoue as an ideolgue who followed Kat6 Hiroyuki ;[ [l i;_ (1836-1916) in solidif3,ing the emperor system in late-Meiji Japan via notions such as thefamily state (kazoku kokka ( ) [] ), loyalty to the emperor (chkun /), and patriotismaikoku []). Irokawa does not explore Inoue's thoughts on Yamaga ,ok6, though similar

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but widely accepted civil religion which buttressed the imperial state with traditional mili-taristic teachings glorifying self-sacrificing loyalty. Reiterating ideas that Sok6 had developedin his Chtch6jijitsu, Inoue, for example, claimed that the unbroken imperial line which hadruled Japan since antiquity w s the crucial factor differentiating Japan from all othernations. Sok6 had argued that Japan's unbroken line reflected the virtue of its people whowould not dare murder their emperor as Chinese had so repeatedly done; it also provedthe true divinity of the imperial line itself. Significantly, Inoue's popularization of thisemperor-centered understanding of Japan's koktttai informed textbooks, the education ofschoolteachers, and the training of lesser functionaries in the police, the military, and thejudicial service. ''3

To an extent Inoue's emphasis on (1) Sok6's impact on the Ak6 r6nin, and (2)Sok6's imperial loyalism, w s not an entirely accurate historical recapitulation of Sok6'sthought. After all, Sok6 never pointed to his impact on Ak6 samurai as proof of theefficacy of his teachings. In fact it seems that Sok6's experiences in Ak6 domain were nothis proudest ones. Apart from his Haisho zanpitsu - p A g: (Exile Testament) and hisNenpu (Chronological Diary), Sok6 rarely referred to Ak6. Though his Chtch6 jJjitsu,written during his last years in exile, did foreshadow later kokugaku [] (_, or nationallearning, literature by emphasizing the sanctity of Japan's imperial line, there is little evi-dence that the Chtch6jijitsu w s a widely known work in Tokugawa Japan. Moreoverthere is no strong evidence suggesting that Sok6 s w the imperial loyalism of the Chch6jijitsu as a definitive feature of his thought. For example, Sok6 did not emphasize imperialloyalism after returning to Edo following his pardon in 1675. Inoue's reading of Sok6'sphilosophy thus seems to derive more from Sh6in's lectures on Sok6's Buky6 zensho:there Sh6in argued that samurai must master Sok6's ideas so that they could repay the imperialvirtue and preserve Japan's sacred kokutai. Sh6in also explained the efficacy of Sok6's ideasby observing that they conveyed the s me wisdom which Sok6 had communicated to ishiKuranosuke. In combining samurai loyalism and imperial loyalism as characteristics of Sok6'sthought, Inoue's understanding of Sok6 then seems to derive mostly from Sh6in's interpreta-tion of Sok6's shid6 which focused loyalism on the imperial center.Because they impacted popular and scholarly literature about Sok6, in both Japanand the West, for the much of the remainder of the twentieth century, Professor Inoue'swritings on Sok6, the Ak6 r6nm, and Japanese kokutai were undoubtedly among the mostinfluential elements of the Sok6 revival in Meiji Japan. However General Nogi Marusuke- y - (1849-1912), the son of a Ch6shfi samurai, eclipsed Inoue's contributions tothe Sok6 revival by attempting to embody the kind of self-sacrificing loyalty that had earli-er been displayed by the Ak6 r6nin, while giving that loyalism a distinct imperial focus. In1907, Nogi spearheaded an effort culminating in Sok6's posthumous receipt of the fourthimperial court rank, junior level (sh6shii ]_ [] . Thus did the Meiji emperor reversethe 1666 bakufu verdict that Sok6's Seiky6 y6roku w s futodoki n ru shomotsu 7 7gthemes appear in Inoue's exposition of Sok6's shid6. One could arguably find traditional groundsfor Inoue's pro-imperial ideology in Sok6's ideas.4 Duus and Scheiner, Socialism, Liberalism, and Marxism, 1901-1931, pp. 654-55.

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z or an intolerably outrageous writing. ''35 Not long atter, Nogi and a small groupof Sok6 admirers visited the S6sanji cemetary. Nogi read the following statement beforeSok6's grave, announcing to him his posthumous elevation to imperial rank by the Meijiemperor:

My teacher, your virtue w s the highest in your generation; your perception surpassedthat of ancient and modern times; your learning w s broad and profound; 5'our dis-courses were excellent. Early on you illuminated the essential blossoms of the spirit ofour national polity, clarifying the difference between the true Central Empire and thingsalien. You rectified matters of n me and station, explaining brilliantly the way of thesamurai. Your intentions were always focused on the administration of the realm; yourtalents combined both the martial and civil arts. Unfortunately, 3,our age did not appre-ciate you. Your exile separated you from the world. Thus you passed away unable tohave realized your magnificent aspirations. Was it not tragic?When I w s a child, my father taught me your philosophy as we read your workstogether. In my heart I revere the loty wind; gazing up strive to be a model samurai. 36

The next year, 1908, the newly organized Sok6 kai 7i t , or Yamaga Sok6 Com-memorative Society, began sponsoring annual memorial sewices for Sok6 at the S6sanji,as well as lectures on Sok6's thought and publication of his remaining works. 37 Not sur-prisingly, Professor Inoue, General Nogi, and Admiral T6g6 Heihachir6(1847-1934) were among the Society's more prominent members. 38In 1912, Nogi personally underwrote the first post-Tokugawa edition of Sok6'sChlch6jijitsu. On 9/11 of the s me year, the day before his death, Nogi presented a copyf the Chch6jijitsu to the crown prince, the future Taish6 J ]-_ emperor. 39 On the daythe Meiji emperor's funeral, Nogi and his wife followed their lord, the Meiji emperor, indeath by committing seppuku. In his suicide note, Nogi deplored the decadent self-indul-gence of young people, exhorting them to live by the warrior code of the samurai, a Nodoubt he had in mind Sok6's shid6. After Nogi's death, a contemporary newspaper,Taiyd 7 0 (The Sun) remarked, nothing has so stirred up the sentiments of the nation

35 Hori, Yamaga Sok6, pp. 206-230.36 Quoted in Tawara, Yamaga Sok6, p. 13.37 Yamaga Sok6 ryaku nenpu, in YSZ, vol. 1 pp. 70-71.38 Inoue Tetsujir6, Yamaga Sok6, Nihon finmei daijiten :i ;1 (Encyclopedia ofJapanese Names), vgol. 6 (Tokyo: Heibonsha, 1979 reprint of 1938 ed.), pp. 314-15.9 Mark Peattie suggests that Nogi's interest in Sok6 derived from Sok6's emphasis on the imperialthrone as the focus of all loyalties. Peattie does not, however, discuss the role Nogi played inhaving imperial rank conferred on Sok6. See Mark R. Peattie, The Last Samurai: The MilitaryCareer ofNogi Maresuke, Princeton Papers in East Asian Studies, Japan (Princeton: Program inAsian Studies, 1972), pp. 101-02, 108.40 Michael Montogomery, Imperialist Japan (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1987), p. 224.

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since the vendetta of the 47 rtnin in 1703. 41 However, Nogi's links with the rOlin, andSok6 as well, were most definitively established by Professor Inoue who, in his laterwritings, emphasized the exceptional potency of Sokt's shid6 by pointing to its successiveexemplars---the Ak6 rtnin, Yoshida Shtin, and General Nogi---in Japanese history. (Tobe continued.)

Translation of Yamaga Sokt's SeikyO yOroku (cont.)Chapter Two

(1) The Mean (chz The me n refers to duly regulated behavior without any partial biases. 42 Confuciusnoted that perceptive people often go beyond the me n in their actions, while less capable

ones do not always attain it. That is why the me n is not more widely practiced. 43 If itwere widely practiced then all human feelings---pleasure, anger, sorrow, and joy---wouldbe well governed, as would families, states, and the world. After all the Doctrine of theMean states that "the me n is the great foundation of the world ''44The sagely way consists of practicing the me n (J. y6 1, Ch. yong). 45 Such prac-tice consists of extending one's knowledge of the rites and following that knowledge41 Ukita Kazutami, Nogi Taish6 no junshi o ronzum 3-5 ;k:J 69giJ-[ , -g z) (A Discussion ofGeneral Nogi's Suicide after the Meiji Emperor's Death), Taiy6 7 [ 18.15 (Nov. 1912), p. 2; quoted inCarol Gluck, Japan's Modern Myths: Ideology in the Late Meiji Period (Princeton: PrincetonUniversity Press, 1985), pp. 221-25. Gluck also notes, it w s Nogi---not the emperor---whobecame the embodiment of the Meiji period in popular culture. Along with the forty-seven rtnin,he appeared the ubiquitous protagonist...the most popular entertainment of the time." Gluck,Japan's Modern Myths, p. 224.4 -Doctrine of the Mean (Ch. Zhongyong; hereafter, The Mean), ch. 1; Shimada Kenjied., Daigaku Chfiy6 ;1 : ff (The Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean), Chfigoku kotend? [] -':lseries, vol. 4 (Tokyo: Asahi shinbunsha, 1978), pt. 2 p. 37. The me n prevails whenthe feelings have not yet emerged. Harmony exists when they emerge, attaining their due degree.Also, The Mean, ch. 10; Shimada, ed., Daigaku ChtTy6, pt., 2 p. 58. "Gentlemen...abide in themean, without partial biases." And, Zhu Xi ,:, comp., Zhongyong zhangiu(Commentary on the Words and Phrases of the Doctrine of the Mean), eds. Suzuki Yoshijir6t l] et al. (Tokyo: Meitoku shuppansha, 1974), Shushigaku taikei - k ,.: (AnthologyofZhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism; hereafter, ST), vol. 8 pp. 14, 450, remarks, The me n is withoutpartial biases."43 The Mean, ch. 4 pt. 2 p. 46.44Ibid. ch. 1, pt. 2 p. 37.45 Zhou Dunyi J-if] []N (1017-73), "Teachers," Tongshu (Penetrating the Book of Changes);Fumoto Yasutaka t g: et al. eds., Shushi no senku - 69 :f (Master Zhu's

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exactly in practice. The sagely Confucian remarks: Be discriminating, be unified, usethe mean, and choose the me n and its practicality, ''46 emphasize the importance ofpracticing the mean However, one cannot practice the me n by merely examining themind's intentions and hoping for enlightenment. Nor can one practice the mean byscrutinizing the mind prior to its agitation. Rather, practice refers to what one doesregularly.. People can only practice the mean in their daily tasks. It is mistaken to thinkthat practice refers to a special method of cultivation distinct from the mean 47(2) The Way (michi _)

Because the way, as a concept, generally refers to the course that one shouldfollow in daily activity, it also signifies, more specifically, those rational and ethicalprinciples which a person ought to follow. 48 Heaven revolves around all things; earthsupports them; 49 and human beings and animals dwell among them. Each realm has a wayfrom which it cannot differ.The moral Way is practical. Unless it can be followed everyday in practice, it isnot the true moral Way. The sagely Confucian Way is the moral Way of humanity; thus itconsists &the ethical course that everyone should follow in their daily activities regardlessof time and place. If it were artificial or contrived so that only one person could practice itbut others could not, or so that the ancients could embody it but moderns could not, thenPredecessors), ST, vol. 2 p. 143. The mean is the principle .of regularity, the universally recog-nized law of morality, and is that to which the sage is devoted.SShuflng (Book of History), The Counsels of Great Yu ; James Legge, trans., The ChineseClassics (hereafter, CC) (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University,, 1970 reprint of the OxfordUniversity, Press edition), vol. 3 p. 61. Be discriminating, be unified, so that you can sincerelyhold fast to the mean. The Mean, ch. 6; Shimada, pt. 2 p. 49. The Master said, 'Shun usedthe mean in governing.' Also, The Mean, ch. 8 pt. 2 p. 53. The Master said, 'Yan Hui alwayschose the mean.'47 Sok6 objects to treating yong/yO (practice) as distinct from the mean. Cf., Chen Beixi [ , Centrality. [The Mean] and Ordinary [Practice], Xingli ziyi ' : (hereafter, XLZY),(1632 edition), pp. 68a-b; Wing-tsit Chan, trans., Neo-Cotcian Terms Explained (hereafter,NCTE), (New York: Columbia University Press, 1986), p. 126. Beixi criticizes the same tendency.Zhu Xi explained the me n and practice as distinct notions in his Lun) jizhu - i.(Commentary on Analects), 6/27, ST, vol. 7 pp. 128 (409). But Beixi insists: This should notimply that outside the mean there is another practice.4 Cf., Chen Beixi, The Way, XLZY, p. 5 la; Chan, trans., NCTE, p. 105. Essentially dao J.michi) signifies those principles people should follow in daily affairs and human relations. Onlywhat is followed by all people can be called the way. Generally the word dao conveys the idea ofsomething that is used daily in practical human affairs, as well as the idea of something peoplefollow. Translation adapted.49 Cf., Zhuangzi ---- Heaven Revolves ; Zhuangzi yinde [ (Concordance to theZhuangzi, hereafter, ZZYD) (Taipei: Hongdao wenhua shiye youxian gongsi, 1972), p. 36.Heaven revolves, while earth holds its place.

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it would not be the moral Way of humanity, nor would the Doctrine of the Mean havestated that the moral Way follows human nature. ''The notion of the moral Way arose from the word dao y_ which signifies a roadthat people follow. 1 In travelling, people must follow roads. Their wagons and carriages,for example, all proceed along large highways linking the imperial capital with every direc-tion. Because these highways facilitate the flow of people and commodities, everyonewants to use them. 2 Back alleys, although convenient for locals, are narrow, cramped,and difficult to navigate; nevertheless they are occasionally pleasant. Confucius' moralWay is a great thoroughfare, while heterodox ways are mere alleys. The latter providetrifling amusements but no real peace or security. Great thoroughfares may lack roadsideattractions but myriad alleys flow into them; therefore one can never really leave them.

(3) Principle (ri )Principle refers to rational order. 53 Everything has an order. If that is thrown intoconfusion, then matters of precedence and hierarchy will never be right. One errs greatlyin defining human nature and heaven as principle. 4 A natural order pervades heaven,earth, and humanity. Rituals embody that order.

(4) Virtue (toku ,Virtue (toku ,,) refers to gaining (toku ,:-). As one's knowledge is perfected, one

omes to embody it. Practicing virtue refers to gaining virtue in one's mind and physicallyembodying it in one's behavior. When virtue is practiced impartially, one omes to como The Mean, ch. 1: Shimada, pt. 2, p. 29.1 Chen Beixi, The Way, XLZY, pp. 51a-b; Chan, trans., NCTE, p. 105. The word dao (J:michi) refers to a road. Originally dao signified people on a road. As roads refer to places thatmany people follow, one would not call something a road if only one person used it. Essentially,dao signifies those principles people should follow in daily affairs and human relations... In reali-ty, however, the word dao derives from places that people walk along. Translation adapted.52 Cf., Mencms, 1A/7; Mengzi yinde g/-- [- (Concordance to the Mencius; hereafter, MZYD),eds. Hong Ye ', , (William Hung) et al. (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1988), p. 4.Travellers all would wish to use the King's roads (if he ruled humanely). Also Mencius, 6B/2,MZYD, p. 47. The way is like a large road. Cf., Mencius, 5B/l; MZYD, p. 39. Proceeding along with...the rational order of things is thework of wisdom.4This refers to the Cheng-Zhu position that nature is principle and that heaven is principle. InThe Decree (ming ), Beixi states that the decree of Heaven can be understood in terms ofprinciple or material force. XLZY, pp. la-b; Chan, trans., NCTE, pp. 37-38. Discussing HumanNature (xng [), Beixi says Human nature is principle. XLZY, p. 5b; Chan, trans., NCTE, p.46.

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prehend heaven and earth without being confused by anything. Such all-penetrating virtueis called heavenly virtue or luminous virtue.5 If one's achievements are weak and shallowlike thin ice, then one cannot be called virtuous.(5) Humaneness (ira 1 - )

Humaneness enables people to be truly human. 56 One becomes humane by over-coming selfishness and returning to propriety. ''57 Just as heaven and earth manifest thevirtue of origination, 58 people should display humaneness in their daily behavior. Confu-cius exhaustively explained the total substance and the great functioning 59 of humanenessby answering Yanzi's NJ- questions about humaneness with both general and particularexplanations. 6 Humaneness encompasses all of the five constant virtues; 61 thus, it is thehighest of all the sagely Confucian teachings.Han and Tang scholars explained humaneness as love (ai ),62 but their accounts

are insufficient. Song Confucians equated humaneness with human nature (sei 'I), 63 yet55 Book of Changes, Explanation of the Words and Sentences; James Legge, I Ching (New York:University Books, 1964), p. 414; Book of Changes, Treatise on the Symbols ; Zhouyi dengshizhong yinde IN -1-- - (Concordances to the Zhou Book of Changes and Ten OtherWorks), eds. Hong Ye et al. (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1988), includes the Zhouyi yindeIN l (Concordance to the Zhou Book of Changes; hereafter, ZYYD), p. 2, and refers toheavenly virtue. Great Learning, oh. 1; Shimada, pt, 1, p. 62, refers to luminous virtue.56 TheMean, ch. 20; Shimada, pt. 2, p. 118. Also, Legge, Li Chi, Vol. 2, p. 333.57Analects, 12/1; Lunyu yinde - l: (Concordance to the Analects; hereafter, LYYD), eds.Hong Ye et al. (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1988), p. 22.8 Book of Changes, Explanation of the Words and Sentences ; Legge, I Ching, p. 408; ZYYD, p.1. Zhu Xi's Ren shuo {_Z (Treatise on Humaneness) opens stating: The mind of heaven andearth is to create things. Huian xansheng Zhu wengong wenfi t fz t4= : (Collected Literary Works of Zhu Xi), eds. Okada Takehiko N] [] ) and Sat6 Hitoshi {= {--(Taipei: Dahua Book Co., 1986), vol. 2, p. 4950.59 The substance/function dichotomy, which derived from Neo-Daoist writings, is crucial to ZhuXi's Treatise on Humaneness. Huian xiansheng Zhu Wengong wenfi, vol. 2, pp. 4950-53. Zhualso refers to the mind in terms of the total substance and great functioning in his Daxue zhangju) k::/h-J (Commentary on the Great Learning), ST, vol. 7, pp. 359 (444).6Analects, 12/1; LYYD, p. 22. After Confucius generally described humaneness as overcomingselfishness and returning to propriety, Yan Hui asked about the particulars. Confucius said, Donot look, listen, speak, or act contrary to propriety.61 The five constant virtues are humaneness, rightness, propriety, wisdom, and faithfulness. ZhuXi's Treatise on Humaneness states: The human mind possesses four virtues, humaneness,rightness, propriety, and wisdom. But none of these four is not included within the one virtue,humaneness. Huian xiansheng Zhu Wengong wenfi, vol. 2, p. 4951.62 Dong Zhongshu i 00 i (ca. 179-ca. 104 B.C.E.), Chunqiu fanlu f X i (Luxuriant Dew ofthe Spring and Autumn Annals); Wing-tsit Chan, A Source Book of Chinese Philosophy (Prince-ton: Princeton University Press, 1963), p. 286. The principle of humaneness consists in loving

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their views exaggerate its meaning. Thus did Han, Tang, and Song Confucians badlymisunderstand Confucius's teachings on the notion of humaneness. The ideas of the Hanand Tang scholars were relatively innocuous, but the philosophical damage done by theSong and Ming Confucians was egregious. In explaining humaneness Confucius wasmuch more specific than the Han, Tang, and Song scholars ever recognized.Contrasted with tightness, humaneness refers to what one likes as opposed to whatone dislikes. 64 Yet humaneness and rightness cannot be dissected: one practices humane-ness by relying on tightness and one completes rightness by relying on humaneness.Human feelings, which consist of our likes and dislikes, are natural emotions. Humane-ness and rightness are our duly regulated likes and dislikes.As Mencius explained, 65 each of the five constant virtues has its own function. Inthis respect they neither overlap nor exist independently of one another. One Song Con-lucian claimed, however, that "all beings composed of vital fluids and generative force areendowed with the five constants. ''66 That is most absurd The five constants are the dulyregulated manifestations of human feelings. Without extending knowledge and energetic-ally practicing the moral Way, a person cannot embody the five constant virtues. Every-one has feelings; only by practicing the Way can they be duly regulated.(6) Rituals (rei

Rituals are the ethical rules of behavior that people should follow in their lives.People follow them so that they can regulate their actions according to the mean and bringorder to their daily tasks. 6v One who can both understand and practice rituals is a sage.Without rituals, people would not know what to do with their hands and feet, or what theyshould look at or listen to Without rituals, people would not know when to advance and

the people and not in loving oneself." Han Yu Nt j (768-824), Yuan dao" , [ (Inquiry into theOrigin of the Way), in Gujin wenxu n i' 5 (Anthology of Ancient and Modem Literature),vol. 3 (Taipei: Guo,vu erbaoshe, 1958), p. 1469. "Loving extensively is humaneness.63 Cheng Mingdao l sj (1032-85), Yishu J]f" (Surviving Works) sect. 9, Er Cheng quanshu (Complete Works of the Cheng Brothers), ch. 10, p. 341. "The five constant virtuesare human nature." Cheng Yichuan _ ' Jl[ (1033-1108), Yishu, sect. 4, Er Cheng quanshu(Sibei buyao ed.; hereafter, SBBY), ch. 19, p. 532. Love is feeling while humaneness is humannature."64 Cf., Mencius, 2A/6; MZYD, p. 13. Mencius said, 'The feeling of commiseration is the begin-ning of humanity; the feeling of shame and dislike is the beginning of rightness.'"6_ Mencms, 2A/6; MZYD, pp. 11-12. But here Mencius was speaking of the four virtues, not thefive constants.66 cheng Yi, Yishu, sect. 7, Er Cheng quanshu, ch. 2, p. 780.67 Book of Rites, "Evolution of the Rites"; Legge, Li Chi, vol. 1, p. 367. Confucius said, '... toneglect [the rites] is to die, while to follow them enables one to live a proper life.'" Book of Rites,Confucius at Ease in his Home"; Legge, Li Chi, vol. 2, p. 271. Confucius said, '...with ritualsone adjusts one's behavior to the mean.'" Translations adapted.

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when to retreat, or when to press on and when to yield. 68 With rituals, peace prevails inthe home, the community, the imperial house, and in civilian and samurai society. Ritualsdo not distort feelings nor do they simply embellish appearances: instead they providenatural regulation. Rituals thus constitute the moral Way from which we cannot depart.The sagely Confucian teachings therefore consist simply of rituals and music.(7) Truth (makoto :

Truth refers to what cannot be denied. Pure, unitary, and unadulterated, t spanspast and present unchanged. The Book of Poetry's remark, "The decree &Heaven owprofound and unrelenting ''69 refers to that eternal aspect of truth. Sagely Confucianteachings never depart from truth. The moral Way, virtue, humaneness and rightness,rituals and music, are all inescapable truths for mankind. Like the love between fathersand sons, truth is not something artificially molded onto people.The Song Confucians misunderstood the meaning of truth in claiming that "theabsence of absurdity is truth" and "genuine reality without any absurdity is truth. ''7Contrary to their claims, t is by advancing the undeniable truth that one achieves a level ofmoral behavior in which every word, deed, and task is void of any falsehood.(8) Loyalty and Empathy (chtjo j, )

Loyalty (cht j, me ns doing things for others unselfishly; faithfulness (shin f-Nme ns being honest, not deceitful. 71 Loyalty demands that one not be selfish, while faith-fulness requires that one refrain from deceit. Loyalty relates to the mind; faithfulness totasks and affairs. 72 Rulers and elders should be served with loyalty, while friends shouldbe treated faithfully. Confucius' sagely teachings consist primarily of loyalty and faithful-ness

68 Book of Rites, "Confucius at Ease in his Home;" Legge, LJ Chi, Vol. 2, p. 273. "Without therites, one would not know how to dispose of his hands and feet, or how to apply his ears and eyes;and his advancing and retiring, his bowings and giving place would be without any definite rules."Translation adapted.69 Shijmg , J(Book of Poetry), "Mao," no. 267; Legge, CC, vol. 4, p. 570.7o Cheng Yi, Nshu, sect. 7, Er Cheng quanshu, ch. 23, p. 781; Zhu Xi, Zhongyong zhang/u(Commentary on the Doctrine of the Mean), ST, vol. 8, pp. 45 (457). These remarks are quoted inthe same order in Chen Beixi, "Sincerity," XLZY, p. 44a; Chan, trans., NCTE, p. 97.7a Cf., Cheng Yi, as quoted by Beixi, states: "Loyalty means exerting oneself to the utmost andfaithfulness means making things real." XLYZ, p. 37b; Chan, trans., NCTE, p. 86.72 C, Chert Beixi, "Loyalty and Faithfulness"; XLZY, p. 37b; Chan, trans., NCTE, p. 86. "Loyal-ty refers to what issues from within one's mind... What emerges in relation to external events,being wholly real and true, is faithfulness."

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Empathy (jo , means not doing to others what one does not wish for oneself. 73Loyalty means dealing with matters unselfishly; empathy entails governing people bytaking them into consideration.(9) Seriousness and Respectfulness (keiky6 ,

Seriousness refers to being deliberate and reverent in conduct, and refraining fromdoing things in a wild and unregulated way. If one perfectly manifests seriousness in everyaspect of the rites, one behaves with proper vigilance. When discussed apart from therites, however, seriousness sounds oppressive, cramped, and uncomfortable.Confucius' sagely teachings focus on ritual behavior. When practicing the ritesone does become serious. Yet dwelling in seriousness is not the way to master ritual pro-priety. Song Confucians, however, mistakenly declared that seriousness is the foundationof learning; they also wrongly claimed that seriousness is the means by which one canperfectly embody the sagely Confucian learning from beginning to end. 74 When peoplefollow the Song methods of concentrating on one thing (shuichi =_ ) and quiet sit-ting (seiza r} =_ ,75 they become overly reverent, submerged in silence, and oppressivelynarrow Confucius explained seriousness in terms of being cautious and apprehensive, v6Yet when one's seriousness is an outgrowth of ritual behavior, the caution and apprehen-sion accompanying it engenders a natural calmness and serenity. Dwelling exclusively onseriousness as the Song Neo-Confucians did incarcerates the human mind within itself sothat it penetrates nothing.Respectfulness (/9 6 ) refers to seriousness manifested externally, w(10) Ghosts and Spirits (kishin (

Ghosts and spirits are mysterious, omnipresent entities. The spiritual energies ofand yang are traces of ghosts and spirits (kishm no ato } 2. l , as are the all-

73 Cf., Analects, 15/24; LYYD, p. 32.74 Cf., Zhu Xi (1130-1200), Zhuzi quanshu :-- :: - (Complete Works of Zhu Xi), 2:21b;Chan, A Source Book, p. 606. Seriousness is the first principle of the Confucian school. Fromthe beginning to the end, it must not be interrupted for an instant. Translation adapted.7. Cheng Yi, Yishu, sect. 1, Er Cheng quanshu, ch. 16, p. 445. Seriousness is concentrating onone thing. Also, Chen Beixi, Seriousness, XLZY, p. 47a; Chan, trans., NCTE, p. 100. MasterCheng said, 'Seriousness is concentrating on one thing.' Quiet sitting was a Neo-Confucian medi-tative practice aimed at nourishing and preserving the mind. Li Yanping fi _- (1088-1163), astudent of the Cheng brothers, taught it to Zhu Xi.76 Cf,, The Mean, ch. 1; Shimada, pt. 2, p. 35. Gentlemen are cautious and apprehensive.77 Cf., Chen Beixi, Respect and Seriousness, XLZY, p. 50a; Chan, trans., NCTE, p. 103.Respectfulness is seriousness manifested externally; seriousness is respectfulness within.

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penetrating, creative currents of heaven, earth, man, and things. 78 Ghosts are associatedwith yin, and spirits with yang. 79The sage Confucius first delt with matters relating to heaven, earth, and humanaffairs; thereafter he discussed ghosts and spirits. 8 Once people have mastered Confu-cius's teachings on heaven, earth, and humanity, they too will begin to understand ghosts

and spirits despite their invisibility.Ghosts and spirits pervade everything, even mysterious, profound spaces. Al-though we can neither perceive nor hear them, they consist of the same generative force(ki ) that humans do. Thus their existence cannot be doubted.The heavenly components of the soul (kon J) belong to yang, and spirits are theirspiritual forces. The earthly components of the soul (haku ) belong to ym, and ghostsare their spiritual forces, sl Human beings and animals are incarnations ofyin and yang. 82The essential spiritual forces of ym and yang (iny6 no reisei 0 7. are the earthlyand heavenly components &the soul.As human beings and animals embody form, ghosts and spirits appear within them.Indeed the refined generative force of ghosts and spirits informs all things, s3 Whenhumans and animals no longer embody physical form their ghosts and spirits flow about,producing aberrations in the creative work of the universe. It is the wandering of theheavenly components of the soul (ytkon .Jj) that produces these aberrations. 847s Cf., Cheng Yi, Yi quan {g (Commentary. on the Book of Changes), 1:7b; Er Cheng quanshu.Ghosts and spirits are the traces of creation. And, Zhang Zai (1020-77), The GreatHarmony, Zhengmeng , (Correcting Youthful Ignorance], in Zhang Zai quanshu . (Complete Works of Zhang Zai), S Y ed., ch. 2 p. 4a; Chan, A Source Book, p. 505. Ghostsand spirits are the spontaneous activity of the two generative forces (yin and yang). Translationadapted. These remarks are quoted in succession in Chen Beixi, Ghosts and Spirits, XLZY, p.73b; Chan, trans., NCTE, p. 143. Sok6's view of the spiritual forces ofyin and yang as thetraces of ghosts and spirits derives from them.79 Cf., Chen Beixi, Ghosts and Spirits, XLZY, p. 73b; Chan, trans., NCTE, p. 143. Spirits arethe spiritual forces ofyang while ghosts are the spiritual forces ofyin. Beixi paraphrases Zhu'sZhongyong zhang/u, oh. 16, ST, vol. 8 pp. 31 (454).0 Cf., Analects, 11/12; LYYD, p. 20. Zilu asked about the spirits of the dead. The Masterreplied, 'If you are still not able to serve humanity, how can you serve the spirits?'Cf., Chen Beixi, Ghosts and Spirits, XLZY, p. 75b; Ch an, trans., NCTE, p. 146. Heavenlycomponents of the soul belong to yang and make spirits, while earthly components of the soulbelong to yin and make ghosts.z Chen Beixi, Ghosts and Spirits, XLZY, p. 74b; Chan, trans., NCTE, p. 144. Beixi quotes theBook of Rites which states, Human beings consist of the interaction of yin and yang and theconvergence of ghosts and spirits.3 Book of Changes, Appended Judgements; ZYYD, p. 40. The refined generative forceintegrates to become things. Cf., Legge, I Ching, p. 354.4 Cf., Chen Beixi, Ghosts and Spirits, XZZY (1632), p. 76b; Chan, trans., NCTE, p. 147.Sok6's discussion essentially paraphrases this section of Beixi's text which, in turn, is based on theBook of Changes' remark, The refined generative force integrates to become things. As it dis-

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When people are busy, they remain diligent. Yet when idle, they become indolent.The myriad things are all rooted in heaven, but people are also rooted in their ancestors.The practices of making sacrifices to ancestors and worshiping distant kin reflect theseinescapable truths of human existence. How could the religious rituals of humanity bemere artificial fabrications? When descendants worship their ancestors, the latter canrespond to them because they share a common generative force with their descendants.Although the ancestral spirits may be far apart, they will gather to respond to the gener-ative force of their progeny because t is the same as their own 8sA constant rule of ritual propriety is that great matters of state should beannounced to heaven, earth, and the entire host of spirits. Apart from that, however,people have specific spirits to whom they should sacrifice. Likewise, ghosts and spiritshave descendants from whom they should receive sacrifices.11) Yin and Yang iny6 ,

Ym and yang fill all space in heaven and earth, effecting the creative activities ofthe universe. As complimentary forces that ceaselessly grow and disintegrate, come andgo, expand and contract, produce and reproduce, ym and yang are the whole substance ofheaven, earth, and humanity. 86Yang is light and so t rises; ym is heavy and therefore descends. Yang is thegenerative force of things, while ym provides form. Yet generative force and form areinseparable. Yin andyang are likewise mutually related: one cannot cleave from the other,nor can one function apart from the other. Therefore neither yin nor yang assumes a fixedposition as they jointly preside over creation.Of the phenomena that yin and yang inform, fire and water are the most salient:they mutually oppose and rely on one another as their activities pervade the universe. Ofthe myriad creations ofym and yang, they are the greatest.

(12) The Five Elements (gogy6

integrates, the wandering away of its spirit becomes change. From this we know the characteristicsand conditions of ghosts and spirits. Translation adapted.85 Cf., Chen Beixi, Ghosts and Spirits, XLZY, p. 78a; Chan, trans., NCTE, p. 149.6 Cf., Chen Beixi, The Decree, XLZY, p. lb; Chan, trans., NCTE, p. 39. The creation of m nand things involves nothing other than the generative forces ofyin and yang and the five elements.Translation adapted.

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The five elements provide yin and yang with form, and are the active agents ofcreation within heaven and earth. 87 gin and yang are generative force, while the fiveelements provide the form of generative force. The five elements are not artificial; theyexist naturally. Water and fire are the master elements. Water and fire are basicallyformless, despite the fact that they are real phenomena. Through mutual opposition andinteraction, their creative powers exhaust myriad transformations.Within the five elements there are cycles of production, action, and mutual succes-sion. Amidst heaven, earth, and humanity, the five elements ceaselessly overcome relyon, and then produce one another. Their cycles of creation, circulation, and successionare inexhaustible.(13) Heaven and Earth (tenchi

Heaven and earth are the greatest forms manifested byym and yang. Because theyexist naturally and necessarily, heaven and earth never resort to artifice. They are eternal,having neither beginning nor end. Their dimensions cannot be measured, nor can instru-ments qualitatively analyze them further. One can only acknowledge that the flowing cur-rents ofym and yang produce heaven and earth, the sun and moon, and the human andphysical worlds.

Generative force ascends infinitely and thus forms heaven. Descending andcongealing, t becomes earth. The truly inevitable nature of these ascents and descents isthe most conspicuous characteristic ofyin and yang.Heaven and earth produce and reproduce ceaselessly. 8s Their creative energy isinexhaustible. Thus, the Book of Changes notes: The mind of heaven and earth is evidentin the hexagram 'Returning' [ .,,s9 When finished with one thing heaven and earth87 Cf., Zhou Dunyi, "Taiji tushuo 7 [] (Explanation of the Diagram of the Great Ultimate),in Shushi no senku, ST, vol. 2, p. 130. By the transformation ofyang and its union with y n, thefive elements of water, fire, wood, metal, and earth arise. The five elements mutually oppose eachother in that water overcomes fire, fire overcomes metal, metal overcome wood, wood overcomesearth, and earth overcomes water. They interact in that water produces earth [ashes] byovercoming fire, earth produces wood by overcoming water, wood produces fires, and fireproduces metal.88 Cf., Cheng Yi, Yishu, sect. 7, Er Cheng quanshu, ch. 16, p. 442. The transformations ofheaven and earth naturally produce things."88 Cf., Zhou Dunyi, "Taiji tushuo, in Shushi no senl, ST, vol. 2, p. 130. By the transformationofyang and its union xvith yin, the five elements of water, fire, wood, metal, and earth arise. Thefive elements mutually oppose each other in that water overcomes fire, fire overcomes metal, metalovercome wood, wood overcomes earth, and earth overcomes water. They interact in that waterproduces earth [ashes] by overcoming fire, earth produces wood by overcoming water, woodproduces fires, and fire produces metal.88 Cf., Cheng Yi, Yishu, sect. 7, Er Cheng quanshu, ch. 16, p. 442. The transformations ofheaven and earth reproduce without end.89Book qfChanges, Treatise on the T'uan ; Legge, I Ching, p. 233; ZYYD, p. 16.

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initiate another so that their creative work has neither beginning nor end. The virtues ofheaven and earth are most magnificent, most just, and most correct; in them on sees theethical sentiments of heaven and earth. 9Of the myriad manifestations ofym and yang, heaven and earth are the greatest,but the sun and oon are the most essential. Suspended above all creation, the sun and

oon illuminate every phenomena 9 so that the myriad things of heaven and earth attaintheir proper lot. The sun and oon penetrate every transformation within heaven andearth; thus do they participate in the activities of heaven and earth.

90 Ibid., Treatise on the T'uan; ZYYD, p. 20. One sees.the feelings of heaven, earth, and themyriad things.91 Cf., Book of Changes, Appended Judgements ; Legge, I Ching, p. 373; ZYYD, p. 44. Of thephenomena suspended in the heavens, non s mor illuminating than the sun and moon.

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